NAGOYA (Kashmir English): Pakistan secured two bronze medals at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Saturday, winning men’s volleyball by defeating China and men’s hockey by defeating South Korea.
In the third-place match of the men’s volleyball event, Green Shirts beat China 25-18, 25-16 and 25-18 at Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.
The victory ended Pakistan’s 64-year wait for an Asian Games medal in men’s volleyball, marking a significant milestone for the national side. Pakistan won their previous medal dating back to 1962 in Jakarta, behind Japan and India.
Pakistan earlier lost the semi-final of the event against Iran 3-0, losing hope for a gold medal. Iran will face host nation Japan in the gold-medal match.
Pakistan hockey claim bronze
On the other hand, the Pakistan hockey team produced a strong comeback to defeat South Korea 5-3 in the bronze-medal match at Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. The medal came after a long 12-year wait at the Asian Games, when Green Shirts won silver in 2014 and gold in 2010.
Sufyan Khan opened the scoring in the fourth minute through a penalty corner, but South Korea responded with three goals to take a 3-1 lead.
Following this, Abdul Rehman netted the goal through a penalty corner in the 30th minute to reduce the deficit before Pakistan turned the match around in the closing stages.
Later in the last quarter, Rana Waheed scored twice in the 52nd and 54th minutes, while Hannan Shahid added Pakistan’s fifth goal in the 59th minute to seal the victory.
For South Korea, Lee Gang-san (12th minute), Kim Jung-bok (18th minute), and Yang Ji-hun (25th minute – penalty corner) scored the goals.
Pakistan Hockey Federation President Muhyuddin Ahmad Wani congratulated the national hockey team, players, and officials on this remarkable achievement and expressed hope that the team will continue to bring honor to Pakistan in the future.
